Al Qaeda seizes partial control of 2 cities in western Iraq - The Long War Journal

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The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq, has taken control of large sections of two western Iraqi cities that were once bastions for the terror group.

In recent days, ISIS fighters entered the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, after the Iraqi military withdrew from them following clashes with tribes over a political standoff that resulted in the arrest of a Sunni member of parliament.

The ISIS has posted videos of its fighters entering the cities in force after clashing with Iraqi police and overrunning several checkpoints. In the videos, a large convoy of ISIS fighters driving technicals, or pickup trucks with heavy machine guns mounted on the back, is seen moving through Ramadi. The fighters are flying al Qaeda's black banner while singing praises to al Qaeda and its "Islamic state." [See more videos here.]

Iraqi officials from the interior ministry acknowledged that parts of Fallujah and Ramadi are under al Qaeda control.

"Half of Fallujah is in the hands of ISIS (the Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham) group," an anonymous interior ministry official told AFP.